Abstract/Description

One of the key characteristics of the Malagasy economy is the isolation of rural areas, due to the sorry state of road infrastructure. Only 10% of the total road network of 20,000 km is passable, and the most recent figures, from 1993, estimate...

Notes

One of the key characteristics of the Malagasy economy is the isolation of rural areas, due to the sorry state of road infrastructure. Only 10% of the total road network of 20,000 km is passable, and the most recent figures, from 1993, estimate that road repair and renewal was advancing at a mere 900 km a year. Without access to decent roads and appropriate means of transport, farmers in many areas are prevented from supplying nearby markets, or can only do so at prohibitive costs. The same state of isolation deprives the vast majority of farmers of access to inputs and technological advances, with a consequent drop in production and the fundamental problem of exhaustion of the soil of Madagascar.
From: Etude pilote sur le développement de partenariats efficaces entre le CTA et des organisations des pays ACP. Madagascar, February 1998, by Zazah Ravaoarivony-Tuengerthal